Everyone has a price. But soon, doctors’ prices will become public knowledge, as on Aug. 1, a provision of the Affordable Care Act goes into effect that requires pharmaceutical and medical device companies to report any financial transactions with doctors or teaching hospitals.

Pharmaceutical companies are known for showering doctors with free meals and other goodies to promote their companies and their drugs, which has been shown to have an influence on which drugs doctors prescribe.

Some states already require pharmaceutical and medical device companies to make these kinds of disclosures, but the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, part of the Affordable Care Act, makes it federal policy. Any payment above $10 will have to be reported, whether it be travel expenses for a conference, gifts, research funding or anything in between, and any lay person will be able to find that information in an online database and accord any reasonable shame to pharmaceutical companies relying on bribes.